JACKSON, Tennessee – With Jada Smith leading the way, Union University gained revenge for an earlier loss at Lee and posted a 71-56 victory over the Lady Flames before a packed house in the Fred DeLay Gymnasium and an ESPN.com Showcase audience on Thursday evening.
The Bulldogs pulled even with the Lady Flames in the Gulf South Conference standings (16-2). Lee dropped to 24-2 overall and Union improved to 22-4.
Smith tallied 29 points, had four rebounds and dished off three assists in playing the entire 40 minutes in leading her team to the win. Jacie Higgins had 11 points and six rebounds. Jaelencia Williams contributed 11 points and freshman Shanique Lucas tallied nine points and led her team in rebounding with seven.
Becca Cheeks returned from an ankle injury and battled to give the Lady Flames 13 points and six rebounds in just 13 minutes of playing time. Haley Schubert also had 13 points while Lindsey Roddy rounded out Lee's double-figure scoring with 11. She also had five rebounds. Nicky Widenski helped Lee outrebound the Bulldogs 36-34 when she went to the glass for nine boards.
The Lady Flames led 17-16 at the end of the first quarter but the Bulldogs came charging back to outscore Lee in the final three frames and led 34-29 at the half. The margin grew to 47-38 when the Lady Flames were only able to score nine points in the third period. The host team salted the victory away with 24 points in the final period.
Lee struggled from the field the entire game, making just 17 of 60 shots (28%). They did hit eight triples of 26 attempts (31%). They were on target from the charity stripe, hitting 14 of 15 attempts.
Union made the best of its field goal attempts, 27 of 52 (52%). They attempted only nine 3-pointers and made three. They hit 14 of 18 free throws (78%).
Lee was guilty of 18 turnovers. The Bulldogs had 18 of their points off Lee floor mistakes. Union helped put the game away by outscoring Lee 38-16 in points in the paint and 21-10 in fast break points.
"One thing you have to have to beat a really good team on the road is toughness. Tonight, Union was the tougher team both mentally and physically," said Lee head coach Marty Rowe. "We got out-coached from the tip and I've got to do a much better job with this group."
The Lady Flames will have a little extra time to regroup. They will not have a Saturday game and will return to action next Thursday at Shorter University. They will close out the regular season one week from Saturday at Alabama Huntsville. Lee will return to Walker Arena and host the opening round of the GSC playoffs on March 3. Lee is 16-0 at home this season.
